Automatically activated group-loyalty principles may not translate into matching behavior for weakly attached individuals

Evidence

It is possible that the activation of loyalty and authority in contexts similar to that of our study occurs fairly automatically and thus is largely independent of individual characteristics such as attachment and glorification. Its translation into behavior, however, may not be as automatic. For instance, for low glorifiers (low attached), automatic activation of the loyalty/authority principles would not necessarily turn into a congruent behavior, and may even lead to its opposite (Wheeler et al., 2007), either because of the perceived contrast between the activated construct(s) and the self, or because of a deliberate decision by the individual to display a behavior consistent with one’s sense of self (as opposed to the principle that is activated). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2144

Categorization

• QUESTION: Fascinating that priming can backfire for low-glorifiers - when does activated construct contrast with the self and produce opposite behavior?